Peer Reviewed Articles About Teaching With the Interactive Whiteboard to Engage Students

Comput Electr Eng. 2021 Jul; 93: 107268.

Using a digital whiteboard for educatee engagement in distance instruction

Received 2020 Aug 28; Revised 2021 January half dozen; Accepted 2021 Jun xiv.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed educational processes across different educational levels. As institutions and faculty members endeavour focused on guaranteeing bookish continuity, the claiming was how to translate the learning methodologies applied in the classroom to virtual settings. A digital whiteboard was integrated to synchronous class sessions to complement the educational experience. During these sessions, students and teachers interacted to co-construct ideas and socialize learning. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of introducing a digital whiteboard in student engagement. The quantitative approach integrated pupil's perception through an online survey with 12 items. The results show that the students enjoyed the dynamic(4.56), students believe that the incorporation of digital whiteboard contributed to agreement abstract concepts(4.83), and perceived the resources contributed for class engagement(iv.72). The design of educational projects that incorporate these resources translate to agile learning dynamics which foster student engagement.

Keywords: Digital flexible model, Online education, Distance teaching, Medical education, Digital whiteboard, Educational innovation, Educational applied science

Graphical abstract

1. Introduction

By March 2020, SARS-CoV19, a novel Coronavirus beginning described on december 2019 in the Chinese province of Wuhan was declared as a pandemic. The global touch on of this virus was inimaginable every bit global economic and social action stopped, carrying out a radical change on the dynamics of daily life. Education of form was not an exception. Courses in dissimilar educational levels, from uncomplicated to higher didactics had to exist chop-chop migrated to digital platforms, and teachers were forced to introduce and find new digital alternatives for educational dynamics. [ane]. Specially in college educational activity settings, the master challenge was to successfully provide the curricular content, skill development and a comparable educational feel for learners.

Past April 2020, the Digital Flexible Model (MFD, by its initials in spanish), a proposal for distance education by Tecnologico de Monterrey University was developed. This model described the incorporation of digital tools such equally Zoom for synchronous sessions and some educational technologies that allowed to recreate a similar learning experience for students during the pandemic [2]. The commencement of the MFD model constituted a challenge for the educational community, which quickly innovated with dynamic and alternatives for student engagement.

The first section of the paper describes the impact of innovation for teaching and learning, and its determining role for the challenge of the COVID-nineteen pandemic. The post-obit section describes the introduction of the digital whiteboard to spark pupil appointment in distance teaching, and presents a method to assess its effects. So the results section presents findings and analysis of students' perception of the educational feel. The word section presents arguments and views of the unlike factors that bear on on pupil date. Finally, the conclusion section presents alternatives to comprise educational innovation strategies to improve classroom dynamics besides the distance or remote format for learning.

1.1. Innovation in educational activity and learning

Educational innovation is the application of an thought, methodology or process to produce a alter in the educational experience [3]. These planned changes surpass the achievement of educational goals, and strive to integrate nobel proposals to nurture learning environments [iv]. In higher education, models are transitioning away from the massive lecture halls where the students are passive subjects who receive the knowledge of the expert [5]. Educational institutions are focusing on active learning methodologies and innovations that prepare graduates for an uncertain future [6]. But it has as well been adjusted to teaching a new generation of students, the Generation Z (Gen Z), which through a generational lens tin exist described as a generation that values diversity, are optimistic about their future and are highly persistent [seven].

As educational technologies achieve new disciplines and develop new applications, these trends take gained acceptance and credibility, also equally an impact on the training process [5]. Every bit new generations get in into the university, at that place is a need to update and redesign grade materials and methodologies, as well equally to assess the contributions of traditional strategies [eight]. This has encouraged educators to implement educational innovation projects that integrate engineering; however, the question is the extent in which institutions, teachers and students are prepared to implement them [9].

In medicine, although the prevailing way of teaching has been the see ane, do one, teach i for surgical and clinical skills [ten], the educational processes have evolved to incorporate new strategies where the educator guides, facilitates and accompanies the teaching-learning process and students take their function as active learners [11]. Some trends in educational engineering that take been incorporated are the use of augmented and virtual reality for teaching anatomy, online evaluation supported by feedback [12] and the utilise of mobile devices to trigger interaction and discussion.

1.ii. Didactics in the COVID-19 pandemic

The challenges of teaching among the pandemic have emphasized the importance of building on the lessons learned from the previous implementations of innovation projects, besides as in the creativity from teachers for a successful transition. Some of the dynamics that were threatened in educational virtual settings is the interactions of learning with peers and the experiences with faculty [xiii]. Enablers to foster these interactions are video conferencing tools such equally Zoom, Google Run into, Youtube Live, Facebook Messenger, and Whatsapp Rooms. However there must be an intentional incorporation and blueprint to leverage these advantages. These structural elements recreate the campus environs for content delivery; some designs take relied on Learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas, Google Classroom, Blackboard, Edmodo, Moodle, to name a few. If the construction of these learning environments is well defined, information technology can favor engagement of the students through challenging tasks and clear guidelines for learning [14]. However, a poor instructional design can become an impeding or maladaptive knowledge for date [xv].

At kickoff, the temptation was transferring face-to-face classes to brusque online conferences where teachers would present a monologue of each topic, only information technology became a setback on the actual model in which students are actors responsible for their own learning process. The face up-to-face interactions are a factor for nostalgia in many cases, a constant threat for learning amid the pandemic is behavioral disaffection [xvi]. Thus, courses sessions benefit for activities that target skill development and interactions between the members of the learning community designed [17]. The redesign underwent needed to create scenarios for active and collaborative learning, where students could feel the emotional and behavioral appointment to manage their ain learning [5].

Providing a comparable experience than the one recieved face up-to-face requires the integration of resources which recreate powerful dynamics of students' agile part. Although the teaching-learning process has been challenging for teachers and students akin, it has also contributed to visualize elements that under normal conditions would become unnoticed, such as building community and a condom-space for students to interact.

For the Immunology class, the usual dynamics consisted in developing diagrams to explain interactions between concepts and processes. The building process is guided past idea-provoking questions to engage in give-and-take and to help students to place central concepts, the conclusions and synthesis, too as these key points are represented on the whiteboard. This is 1 of the best valued formats by students that accept previously participated in form, as they highlight the opportunity to co-construct ideas and socialize learning. To recreate this dynamic when migrating to the altitude education model, an innovation was adult to accost two elements: ane) the use of connectivity and distance teaching platforms to promote a dynamic and active grade, and two) promote collaboration betwixt students and teachers. To do then a virtual whiteboard application was integrated to synchronous class sessions. During these sessions, students and teachers participated and discussed specific topics of the program. The objective of this study was to appraise the affect of introducing a digital whiteboard in student engagement on a distance learning feel..

ii. Methods

2.1. Methods

In gild to assess this implementation, a quantitative approach was implemented [eighteen]. The methodology described by the showtime level of Kirkpatrick model was incorporated equally it focuses on the assessment of pupil satisfaction and reaction to innovation [19]. A 12-detail questionnaire was used to assess unlike factors that impact student appointment: 1) interaction with peers and faculty [13], 2) structure and educational surroundings [xiv], iii) emotion and beliefs [xvi]. Each cistron explored different elements for engagements described in table 1 . The instrument incorporates x items using a five-betoken Likert scale where 1 corresponds to total disagreement, and v full agreement, and ii additional open-ended questions to empathize the engagement factors that students considered the almost important in a face-to-confront format, and in distance settings.

Table 1

Instrument design for student date

Factors	Theoretical elements of engagement
Interaction with peers and faculty	Learning with peers (McCormick, Gonyea & Kinzie, 2013) Experiences with faculty (McCormick, Gonyea & Kinzie, 2013)
Structure and educational environment	Campus surround (McCormick, Gonyea & Kinzie, 2013) Structure-dependent appointment (Bangert-Drowns & Pyke, 2001) Adaptive noesis (Martin, 2007) Impeding/maladaptive knowledge (Martin, 2007)
Emotion and beliefs	Emotional (Skinner et al., 2009) Behavioral Disaffection (Skinner et al., 2009)

The sample strategy was a convenience sample, since participants were volunteers [18]. Information technology consisted of 39 fourth-semester medical students from the Immunology grade which gave consent for the results to be used for educational enquiry purposes.

This altitude didactics model started implementation in early April 2020. In society to achieve an active class, the implementation required prior planning work in which the topics were agreed to exist discussed in each session, articulate rules of etiquette were established for interaction in the virtual class, likewise as materials to be completed before form.

Regarding technical preparations, the teacher logged into the Zoom video conferencing tool on two different devices: reckoner and tablet. The purpose of the computer session is for the teacher to periodically review the Zoom chat with questions or comments that the students may have, to have an actress screen to corroborate the transmission of the class and to manage the waiting room of the Zoom session. The tablet was used to share the screen where the diagrams were beingness worked using the Goodnotes app. Every bit the session progressed, the instructor used questions to guide the students' discussion. Together they built the graphic representation that included drawings or annotations. Sometimes screenshots of figures from a book, paper or videos were overlapped into the diagram in Goodnotes to complement the caption. Altogether, this ensured the grade remained interactive, favoring pupil's engagement and this digital whiteboard was the keystone on achieving information technology.

In this app, the fundamental concepts and arrows that demonstrate the interaction between the diverse immunological or hematological processes are integrated. Fig. 1 presents an example of these sessions, it particularly depicts a sequence of events on the platelet activation process. First a table was fabricated (upper left corner) comparing the main glycoproteins on the platelet'due south surface and their ligands. The bottom correct corner showcases a diagram showing footstep past pace platelet activation and involvement of these glycoproteins from adhesion to agregation.

The construction of the diagram starts from the meridian left corner, continues towards the right side, and finishes at the bottom of the lath. Colors complement the presentation of information in an organized style, helping students to achieve cognition organisation. Students can take screenshots as the grade progresses, but they can also access the diagrams through an online shared-binder where each form is documented.

3. Results

The items that received the well-nigh favorable responses were: "10. I call back my teacher showed not bad commitment making the transition to the distance pedagogy model", "4. The use of graphic resources (whiteboard, drawings, mental maps, integration of text figures) helped me to sympathise abstract concepts that I observe hard to sympathise in books", and "1. I enjoyed the methodology in which my class was taught in the contiguous format", with mean of 4.94, 4.83 and iv.8, and variances of 0.053, 0.31 and 0.33 respectively.

The items that received a less favorable evaluation correspond to the items of "vii. Switching from the face-to-face up diagram construction to a digital version of the whiteboard fabricated it difficult for me to follow the course content.", "viii. I felt more involved with the course in the distance course", and "x. I was more motivated to participate in the course in person", with a mean of two.3, three and 3.63, and variances of 2.22, 1.77 and ane.55 respectively. Table 2 presents the results obtained by each engagement factor.

Table 2

Pupil engagement cess in the implemented innovation

Factors	Theoretical elements of engagement	Item	Mean	Variance
Interaction with peers and faculty	Learning with peers and	1. I enjoyed the dynamics and interaction of developing diagrams in which my class was taught.	4.81	0.33
Interaction with peers and faculty	Experiences with faculty	2. The format and dynamics of the favored interaction with the teacher.	iii.75	1.11
Structure and educational environment	Campus surroundings	3. I think my instructor showed great commitment making the transition of grade to this distance model	four.94	0.05
	Construction-dependent engagement	iv. The inclusion of multiple resources and stimuli in the classes, kept my interest.	4.72	0.38
	Structure-dependent date	5. I would recommend my friends participating in courses that use a similar format.	4.56	0.83
	Adaptive cognition	half-dozen. The digital whiteboard helped me to understand abstruse concepts.	4.83	0.31
	Impeding/maladaptive cognition	7. Switching from the confront-to-face diagram construction to a digital version of the whiteboard made information technology difficult for me to follow the form. *	ii.31	2.22
Emotion and behavior	Emotional	eight. I felt more involved with the form in the altitude course.	3.00	one.77
	Behavioral Disaffection	ix. The educational experience I received in the contiguous format was better than the one I take remotely.*	3.64	i.32
	Behavioral Disaffection	10. I was more than motivated to participate in the course in person.	iii.64	1.55

In the open-ended questions, students identified that in face-to-face settings the nigh relevant engagement factors were 51.two% interaction with peers and faculty, 41.four% construction and educational surroundings factors, and 7.four% referred to emotion and beliefs factors. In distance didactics settings, students described that the most relevant engagement factors were 0% interaction with peers and faculty, 78.1% structure and educational environment factors, and 21.9% declared emotion and behavior factors. Exemplary quotes of students reflections in open up-ended questions are presented in Table three .

Table iii

Students reflections in open up-ended questions

Factors	Confront-to-face	Distance instruction
Interaction with peers and kinesthesia	"Communicating with other classmates inspires me to inquire questions during class". (participant v) "The interpersonal experience, even just seeing other people makes me more aware in a session". (participant 9) "Interacting with the instructor allowed us to solve doubts every bit they emerged". (participant 18)	(no mentions were given to this gene)
Structure and educational environment	"I enjoyed that the class was very visual and it was piece of cake to follow". (participant 21) "In the course at that place was bibliography, I knew that if I read it I at least knew the minimum. Later on that, it was up to me to find out more. Also the instructor guided the session with what we had read, using the diagrams allowed me to integrate the concepts". (participant 26)	"Classes were recorded and I was able to picket them over over again". (participant 15) "The teacher adjusted to an online format very fast, and she seemed interested to brand the explanation of the content crystal clear". (participant 7) "I enjoyed that we translated the diagrams and dynamic explanations that we had in form to proceed some kind of normal in the distance setting". (participant 13)
Emotion and behavior	"I felt that I was involved in the session, and it fabricated me want to participate". (participant 27) "It made me relax, and I wanted to be ready for class because it was an unrepeatable moment that I needed to take advantage of". (participant 31)	"I was studying at my bed". (participant 11) "I felt I got to know more than of the teacher and talk about life". (participant 21) "I felt that the teacher was doing her best. I really liked that and motivated me to put all my attempt in and learn more, not by memorizing but learning". (participant 22)

4. Word

The innovations implemented in the course were focused in fostering interaction with peers and faculty. These adaptations presented a claiming because some of the strategies were non the all-time to promote interaction and engage students. Tools such as the digital whiteboard were considered useful considering they helped to preserve some of the usual conditions and form dynamics. The results of this study bear witness that students felt the form every bit if zero had changed from the presence based interactions. That perception of quality was deeply valued since the migration to remote learning was done fast and efficiently given the short-time there was to plan and conform contents to strategies that were already designed. However, information technology posed the question to consider if some of the teaching rituals are strictly necessary. Practices such as delivering newspaper-based assignments, organizing synchronous team-discussions, and long lectures, are to exist replaced by the incorporation of some technologies. These additions could contribute to protecting class time for the important elements described above: describing examples of specific processes, discussion with peers, posing questions, and overall constructing knowledge with previous conceptions as learning takes place.

The structure and educational surroundings elements are shown in the results obtained demonstrate an adequate transition from the face-to-face model. One of the principal strengths of this innovation refers to the successful migration to the digital model where the students expressed that the quality was comparable to the i they had in the confront-to-face model. A lesson learned in this implementation was to assess the project past the students' voices, not as customers that needed to exist satisfied but rather as partners that have to be interested in their learning procedure in guild to succeed. For instance, the first configuration performed by the teacher received feedback from students which ended providing alternatives to brand the setting up of the sesion easier. To achieve this, it is crucial that the instructor has presented articulate objectives for the grade, as these are discussed and antiseptic with the pupil there is an alignment of expectations on both stakeholders. I strategy is to ask students to read the course materials, before each class since information technology is key for students to have that previous knowledge to be able to interact. Although remote sessions were guided by the teacher with directed questions during this process, educatee training is important to the dynamic in a remote model.

A event of the cess that was quickly recognized was the emotional and behavioral bear upon that the implementation was fulfilling. The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded an extra effort from teachers to deliver not only the excellence students are used to, but as well to provide a scrap of normality amongst uncertainty and stress. To foster these learning environments educators need to continually assess their own performance to recognize the contribution of their education efforts, a skill that needs to be nurtured by faculty evolution programs even after the pandemic crisis has passed.

5. Conclusions

Students seem to answer well to agile learning dynamics besides the distance. Some elements still require a continuous effort to impact on student appointment, for example in the resistance of participants towards opening their microphone to ask questions or share a annotate, they still perceive that by making an oral contribution, it's an interruption of the instructor'due south caption. In that location is a need to develop alternatives where all students can participate and engage in the most natural and effective way. This could be achieved by property dedicated times for discussion, scheduling online forums or past making students work in small groups where they interact with their peers. Unfortunately, there is still not a manner to emulate the totality of a contiguous classroom and the live interaction inside. However, these types of dynamics provide a sense of activeness and normality of the classes before the pandemic, with the elements that now make the states nostalgic.

Traditionally, a big portion of teachers yet limit themselves to carry lecture-based sessions that are supported with Powerpoint presentations. This strategy is time consuming and could go tedious for Gen-Z students, who are used to receiving multiple stimuli and accept shorter attending spans [7]. Implementing educational innovations allows that students stay engaged and agile by collaborating in the sessions. Surely, this strategy requires that the teacher performs some additional piece of work, due to the setup, planning and implementation. However, the results obtained go far worthwhile.

Author contributions CRediT roles

Aniela Mendez-Reguera: Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, review & editing.

Mildred Lopez: Methodology; Formal analysis; Resources; Project administration; Roles/Writing - original typhoon, review and editing

Proclamation of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they take no known competing fiscal interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Biographies

•

Aniela Mendez-Reguera is currently the Associate Managing director of the Medical programme at Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, where she participates as Faculty in the immunology and microbiology courses. She is an M.D. with a Ph.D in Immunology. She has been enjoying life as an educator for the final four-years. Her contributions take taken her to participate in several international conferences in medicine and educational technology. Her educational innovation projects are published in the leading journals on medical didactics.

•

Mildred Lopez is the author of more than than 40 articles and eleven book chapters. Currently, she is the Manager of Educational Innovation at Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Phd in Educational Innovation. Fellow of medical education at FAIMER Institute, and of the Clan of Medical Didactics Europe (AMEE). Member of the Latin American Federation of Clinical Simulation and Patient Prophylactic (FLASIC), and the National Academy of Medical Education in Mexico. Founding fellow member of the Salubrious Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - Pin) Network.

Notes

Editor: Dr. M. Malek

Footnotes

This newspaper is for special section VSI-tei. Reviews processed and recommended for publication by Guest Editor Dr. Samira Hosseini.

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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8494483/